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PubMed2001

Molecular investigation of transmission of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 in a criminal case.

Very few criminal cases involving human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) transmission have been described. We report on an HIV-1 transmission case with a child being infected by an HIV-1-positive man. The objective was to determine through molecular epidemiology and phylogenetic analyses whether HIV-1 from the HIV-1-positive man could be the source of infection in the HIV-1-positive child, as claimed by the authorities. We conducted genetic analysis of three different parts of the HIV-1 genome (gag, pol, and env) by PCR, direct-sequencing, and phylogenetic analyses. We used maximum likelihood, maximum parsimony, and neighbor-joining methods for the phylogenetic analyses to investigate whether the sequences from the man and the child were related. We found that the viral sequences from the man and the child formed separate clusters in all of the phylogenetic analyses compared to the local controls. A unique amino acid deletion was identified in the C2-V3-C3 region of the env gene in the virus from the man and the child. These results were used in the criminal court to elucidate whether the virus from the man was related to the virus from the child. In summary, the results from the phylogenetic analyses, the sequence distances between the virus from the man and the virus from the child, and the identification of the unique molecular fingerprint in the env gene together indicated that the virus from the man and the virus from the child were epidemiologically linked.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2000

Relationship between psychotic disorders in adolescence and criminally violent behaviour. A retrospective examination.

BACKGROUND: The interaction between psychosis and violence in adults is an important area of research receiving attention. To date there is little available data examining this relationship in adolescence. AIMS: To investigate the possible relationships between criminally violent types of behaviour, and psychopathology and social factors, among adolescents suffering from a psychotic disorder. METHOD: A retrospective case note study of 39 in-patients diagnosed as having a psychotic disorder and admitted to one of two adolescent psychiatry units (one secure, one open). Cases were divided into a 'violent' and a 'non-violent' group, and these two groups were then compared for social and psychopathological variables. RESULTS: There was no association between recorded psychopathology and criminally violent behaviour. Criminally violent behaviour was associated with a history of emotional or physical abuse, contact with social or mental health services, and previous criminal behaviour. CONCLUSIONS: These findings fail to echo results of studies in adult schizophrenia; they suggest that violent behaviour in psychosis is associated more closely with social factors than with specific symptoms of the psychotic illness. Potential explanations are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Molecular analysis of human immunodeficiency virus strains associated with a case of criminal transmission of the virus.

An investigation was done of the evidence for transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) from an HIV-positive man to several male and female sex contacts. Phylogenetic analysis of sequences from the gag and env genes showed a close relationship between the predominant virus strains from the source and 2 contacts. However, the likelihood that a female contact was infected by the source could not be determined, despite contact tracing indicating that this may have occurred. One male, shown by contact tracing and molecular evidence to have been infected by the source, subsequently transmitted HIV to his female sex partner. HIV sequence from a plasma sample used as a control in the phylogenetic analysis contained env and gag sequences that were closely related to those from the source. An epidemiologic link between these 2 individuals was subsequently confirmed by contact tracing.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Role of autopsy surgeon in determination of time since death in criminal cases.

Importance of determination of time since death is very important for the investigating agencies, autopsy surgeons and legal authorities in criminal cases or when a foul play is suspected behind a death. There are many variabilities and probabilities in determination process but the following points are to be read and analysed carefully so that it can be easier to ascertain the time since death: History and circumstances of death; somatic and molecular signs of death; emptying time of stomach and state of digestion of food in the stomach; biochemical investigations, etc. The individual points are narrated in a nutshell in this article.

Autopsy↗
PubMed2002

Reactions to mandatory sentences in relation to the ethnic identity and criminal history of the offender.

This study investigated the responses of 181 participants (87 men, 94 women), from Adelaide, South Australia, to scenarios describing mandatory sentences for perpetrators of a property offense committed in the Northern Territory, Australia. Four scenarios that were randomly distributed varied ethnic identity (White Australian, Aboriginal Australian) and criminal history (first-time offender, third-time offender). Participants completed attitude measures for both mandatory sentencing and capital punishment, a right-wing authoritarianism scale, and a scale concerned with sentencing goals (retribution, deterrence, protection of society, and rehabilitation). Results showed strong effects of attitude toward mandatory sentencing on scenario responses for variables such as perceived responsibility, deservingness, leniency, seriousness, anger and pleasure, and weaker effects of ethnic identity and criminal history. Participants were generally more sympathetic when the offender was an Aboriginal Australian. Results of a multiple regression analysis showed that attitude toward mandatory sentence was predicted by right-wing authoritarianism and by sentencing goals relating to deterrence and the protection of society.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Frequency of serial sexual homicide victimization in Virginia for a ten-year period.

The frequency of serial sexual murder has been widely discussed, and estimates of the number of victims in the United States range from 500 to 6000 per year. This study attempted to quantify the number of serial sexual murder victims in Virginia for a ten-year period. Multiple sources of data were utilized, including Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) case files, FBI's Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (ViCAP) reports, Virginia State Police ViCAP reports, Virginia Homicide Investigators Association, and the Virginia Division of Forensic Science DNA database, to effectively cull out all the known serial sexual murder victims for the given time period. Review of these records revealed a total of 28 victims of serial sexual murder, compared with a total of 5183 murder victims for the same ten-year period. The frequency of serial sexual victimization was 0.5% of all homicides for the given period. These results highlight the unusual frequency of serial sexual murder.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

[Epidemiologic parameters of mentally ill patients subjected to mandatory treatment].

INTRODUCTION: Criminally insanes form a special group of mentally ill patients. This paper investigated some psychiatric, criminological and social aspects of the above mentioned group of patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The author summarized the data of 114 patients whom he treated in the Forensic Mental Institute at least for two months between 1st February 1997 and 31th January 2002. And these data of mandatory treated patients were compared with that of offenders being sentenced because of a violent crime. RESULTS: The reason of why the majority of criminally insanes ran counter to the law was that they committed or attempted homicide, while violent offenders rather committed rowdyism, bodily injury and robbery. Concerning the victims of crimes the subgroups of male and female mandatory treated insanes showed similarity to the groups of male and female offenders committed violent crime, respectively. Namely males committed crime against their non-family members, while in the majority of cases females attacked their family members. The pecularities of mandatory treated insanes are the following. The majority of those were single and had been treated in a psychiatric department before mandatory treatment started, but only the minority of those attempted suicide. It was not a negligible subgroup of criminal insanes whose illness was diagnosed after they had committed the crime. The question emerges whether in these cases a latent development of disease or an initial delict should be taken into consideration. CONCLUSION: The initiation of a national, comparative survey is necessary, which on the one hand would help in psychiatric prevention, on the other hand the scientific investigation of criminalization of mentally ill patients would promote the elimination of prejudice saying that mentally ill patients commit violent crimes more frequently than their normal counterparts.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Low platelet monoamine oxidase activity in Swedish imprisoned criminal offenders.

Numerous studies report a connection between low platelet monoamine oxidase activity (trbc MAO) and personality traits such as impulsiveness and sensation seeking. Generally, criminal offenders constitute a group of individuals that are high in such temperamental characteristics. In this study, we investigated trbc MAO activity in imprisoned criminal offenders and in controls where the confounding factor of smoking was under control. Radiometric MAO assays were performed in 99 male criminal offenders and in 60 non-criminal volunteers. Offenders had significantly lower trbc MAO activity than controls, i.e., 8.8 +/- 3.0 nmol/10(10) platelets/mm and 11.3 +/- 5.1, respectively (p<0.0001). When only smoking individuals were included in the analysis, the difference in trbc MAO was still statistically significant (p<0.05). Based on these data, we suggest that trbc MAO is related to mechanisms predisposing for development of specific personality characteristics that in turn increase vulnerability for criminal behaviour. The results also suggest that low trbc MAO activity in criminal offenders is not an artefact of cigarette smoking.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

The role of alcohol and drugs in triggering criminal violence: a case-crossover study*.

AIMS: To investigate the triggering effects of alcohol, illegal substances and major classes of prescribed psychotropic drugs on criminal violence. DESIGN: A case-crossover design, using each subject as its own control. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: A consecutive sample of 133 violent offenders was recruited from a forensic psychiatric evaluation unit and a national prison evaluation unit in Sweden during 2002-03. Measurements Offenders were assessed with structured interviews. Risk estimates were based on hazard periods of 24 hours. We used standard Mantel-Haenszel methods for statistical analyses. FINDINGS: A 13.2-fold increase of risk of violence [95% confidence interval (CI): 8.2-21.2] was found within 24 hours of alcohol consumption. This increase in violence risk was similar among individuals combining alcohol with benzodiazepines [Relative risk (RR) = 13.2, 95% CI: 4.9-35.3]. Use of benzodiazepines alone in regular doses (RR = 0.4, 95% CI: 0.2-0.5) or antidepressants [selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or tricyclics] (RR = 0.4, 95% CI: 0.3-0.8) was associated with a lowered risk for violence. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirmed that alcohol is a strong trigger of criminal violence. Benzodiazepines in combination with alcohol caused no further increase of violence risk. Benzodiazepines in regular doses and antidepressants may inhibit violence, but further studies are needed to verify causality. The case-crossover method can contribute to research on the proximal causes of criminal violence.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Getting by with a little help from your friends: the impact of peer networks on criminality in a cohort of treatment-seeking drug users.

This study investigates the links between social networks of drug users and criminal activity. Opiate misusers (n=128) receiving in-patient treatment were interviewed about substance use, social networks, and crime in the month before treatment. Almost 60% of participants reported an average of more than 70 crimes each. Less than one-fifth of the subjects spent no time with other users, while just over half spent either "quite a lot" or "a lot" of time with drug users. Time with users increased the risk of crime. Spending no time with users provided a protective effect. Time with criminally involved drug users was associated with greater levels of crime. Social networks represent an important marker for integration in criminal networks in treatment-seeking drug users and a long-term barrier to rehabilitation.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Major mental disorders and criminal violence in a Danish birth cohort.

BACKGROUND: This epidemiological investigation was designed to examine the relationships between each of the major mental disorders and criminal violence. Specifically, we assessed whether a significant relationship exists between violence and hospitalization for a major mental disorder, and whether this relationship differs for schizophrenia, affective psychoses, and organic brain syndromes. METHODS: Subjects were drawn from a birth cohort of all individuals born between January 1, 1944, and December 31, 1947, in Denmark (N = 358 180). Because of the existence of accurate and complete national registers, data were available on all arrests for violence and all hospitalizations for mental illness that occurred for individuals in this cohort through the age of 44 years. RESULTS: There was a significant positive relationship between the major mental disorders that led to hospitalization and criminal violence (odds ratios 2.0-8.8 for men and 3.9-23.2 for women). Persons hospitalized for a major mental disorder were responsible for a disproportionate percentage of violence committed by the members of the birth cohort. Men with organic psychoses and both men and women with schizophrenia were significantly more likely to be arrested for criminal violence than were persons who had never been hospitalized, even when controlling for demographic factors, substance abuse, and personality disorders. CONCLUSIONS: Individuals hospitalized for schizophrenia and men hospitalized with organic psychosis have higher rates of arrests for violence than those never hospitalized. This relationship cannot be fully explained by demographic factors or comorbid substance abuse.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Clinical forensic medicine--management of crime victims from trauma to trial.

The loss of human life and function due to violence constitutes a phenomenon that affects millions of patients annually. Society demands an investigation of trauma associated with criminal activity. No longer is it acceptable for health care professionals to operate in isolation of forensic philosophies and principles. It is assumed that the individuals responsible for the performance of the examination of forensic victims have the necessary basic education, experience, and skills. Health care professionals involved in the initial response to these victims, in the emergency department, are faced with unique problems, as social changes require continual reevaluation of standards and professional responsibility. The role of forensic medicine has been expressly designed to provide solutions to some of the most urgent concerns in our society. Forensic medicine focuses on the areas in which medicine and human behavior interface with the law. Existing problems are great and multifaceted and call for new solutions. The application of forensic science to contemporary medical practice reveals a wider role in the investigation of crime and the legal process that contributes to public health and safety. The responsibility of the forensic medicine is to provide continuity of care from the health care institution or the crime scene to courts of law...from trauma to trial.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2003

Somatic morbidity and criminality: the Northern Finland 1966 Birth Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between adverse physical disorders and violent/non-violent criminal behaviour. DESIGN: The study material consisted of the large, prospectively followed, unselected and genetically homogeneous Northern Finland 1966 Birth Cohort, the Finnish Hospital Discharge Registers and the National Crime Register (n=10934). MAIN RESULTS: The results of the logistic regression analyses showed that male offenders had statistically significantly more injuries (adj. OR=1.81, 95% CI=1.51-2.17), when compared with males without a criminal history. Violent male offenders exhibited greater morbidity to the diseases of the respiratory system (adj. OR=1.64, 95% CI=1.03-2.60) when compared with non-violent criminals. Female offenders suffered more commonly from poisonings (adj. OR=3.84, 95% CI=1.69-8.72), injuries (adj. OR=2.79, 95% CI=1.67-4.66), infections (adj. OR=1.87, 95% CI=1.16-2.99) and indefinite symptoms (adj. OR=2.02, 95% CI=1.20-3.40) than non-offending females. CONCLUSIONS: At epidemiological level, criminal behaviour seems to be associated especially with an increased risk of injuries for both sexes. The observed increase of the diseases of the respiratory system among violent but not among non-violent males calls for further investigations.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Music Exposure and Criminal Behavior: Perceptions of Juvenile Offenders.

The purpose of this investigation was to examine young offenders' perceptions of the relationship between exposure to music and their criminal behavior. Using a tool designed for the study, male felony offenders ages 12 to 17 were questioned about their music listening patterns and the perceived influence of listening on their offending fantasies and behavior. Rap music was the predominant choice across all participant profiles. While 72% of respondents believed that music influenced the way they feel at least some of the time, only 4% perceived a connection between music listening and their deviant behavior. Narrative comments provided by the youths were largely consistent with objective data. Most respondents believed in the reflection-rejection theory, in which music is perceived as a mirror of the adolescents' lives rather than a causative factor in their behavior. Two additional theoretical perspectives were espoused: drive reduction theory, which states that music serves as an expressive vehicle (thus reducing the likelihood of emotional and physical outburst); and excitation-transfer theory, wherein residual physiological arousal affects subsequent behavior. In the latter, music was perceived as harmful only when applied to preexisting states of negative arousal.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1996

A twin study of self-reported criminal behaviour.

Twin studies can be used to investigate the contributions of genetic factors, the common or shared environment, and the unique or non-shared environment to individual differences in a measurable characteristic. This paper reports the results of preliminary analyses of self-reported data on arrests and criminal behaviour from the Vietnam Era Veteran Twin Registry. The subjects for the study were 3226 male twin pairs in which both members served in the military during the Vietnam era. There were significant influences from both genetic factors and the common environment on early arrests. Genetic factors, but not the common environment, significantly influenced whether subjects were ever arrested after age 15, whether subjects were arrested more than once after age 15, and later criminal behaviour. The common environment, but not genetic factors, significantly influenced early criminal behaviour. The environment shared by the twins has an important influence on criminality while the twins are in that environment, but the shared environmental influence does not persist after the individual has left that environment. Genes are likely to influence the occurrence of criminal behaviour in a probabalistic manner by contributing to individual dispositions that make a given individual more or less likely to behave in a criminal manner.

Crime↗
PubMed2001

Do medico-legal truths have more power than war lies? About the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia and in Kosovo.

War crimes perpetrated during the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia and in Kosovo prompted medicolegal investigations of mass graves as required by the International Criminal Tribunal (ICT). In spite of natural and methodological boundaries, these investigations were able to help to identify the victims and to discover the clues and evidence that are likely to support objectively the indictments brought by the ICT. However, the medico-legal data cannot explain everything. They should be exploited very carefully in order to avoid any error of interpretation.

Cause of Death↗
PubMed1990

Deaths at the workplace. Accidents or homicides?

The medical examiner is responsible for certifying and determining the cause of death of any person dying from criminal violence, accident, suicide, when unattended by a physician, in police custody, or in any suspicious or unusual manner. A less well-recognized, but no less important, responsibility of the medical examiner is the investigation of deaths of individuals who die at the workplace. The manner of death of most job-related fatalities has been traditionally classified as accidental. In recent times, prosecutors have scrutinized these cases more carefully. The results of some investigations have prompted them to bring criminal charges against employers for blatant negligence that contributed directly to injuries and deaths of employees. This paper is devoted to a review of the controversy surrounding the issue of industrial homicide, illustrative cases, and the role of the medical examiner in the investigation of deaths at the workplace.

Accidents, Occupational↗